Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Tiger Beer]

[Lunar Groove Gardener]

My vote: Nod and smile as you pass strangers with whom you make contact. (yes I respond with a HEY or a HI when appropriate, even the occasional,"Howzit going"...though I don't much want a true answer usually!) Sometimes they're of unknown nationality. Sometimes the caucasians speak some other foreign tongue, you cannot assume that all people of whatever skin tone speak English. THAT would be ignorant. This seemingly elitist ignoring casual niceties used to bug me too, heck it bugs me in my own country...you say "hello" to someone and they don't feel compelled to acknowledge you. Then of course being human you want to grab them by the throat, knock them to the ground and check their hearing...who's the bad guy now? That's when you realize that in this world there are at least two types of people: 1. Ones who say hello
2. Those who do not. Since you cannot change either, depending which side you're coming from, you must change yourself to embrace these differences. I once balked at saying hello to someone in the Subway Sandwich Shop in Sunae out of general shyness (they didn't say hello either). I later saw this as a good thing as the person sat in the window eating their sammy whilst cursing aloud for twenty minutes. There are many people who speak English who you would prefer to avoid in Korea, for good reasons. Enjoy the isolation. Back home you have to listen to the inane drivel of EVERY passerby.
Wage Peace.